Welcome to the Inglenook at Cold Spring School Library...a cozy place by the fire to discuss children's literature and the wonder of reading and learning.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

News From the Library--Feb 8, 2010

Mercy Watson Crime Fighter by Kate DiCamillo

A Video Book Review by Maddi and Olive

Also in the Library this week...

Kindergarten--Kindergarten missed library this week but for a very good reason--our Annual Cold Spring Talent Show. Congratulations to the kindergarteners who participated!

First, Second, and Third Grade--This week we started one of our favorite events in the Library-- The California Young Reader Medal competition. Each year 5 books are nominated by children and librarians throughout California and students in these grades get the chance to vote for their favorite. Think of it as the Academy Awards for children's literature in California. In the Primary Catagory we have great nominees this year, including one that was written by a Santa Barbara author and the wife of the architect who designed our beautiful library! Beginning this week students in these three grades will hear the nominees, one each week. The choices this year are:

My Life As A Chicken by (our local author) Ellen Kelley and illustrated by Michael SlackA Frog Thing by Eric DrachmanDo Unto Otters: A Book About Manners by Laurie KellerVelma Gratch and the Way cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and illustrated by Keven HenkesMillie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffenmeier

Fourth Grade-We concluded our Tall Tales unit by reading Sally Ann Thunder Ann Crockett by Steven Kellogg. Once again Mr. Kellogg had provided fantastic illustrations to accompany his story of the larger than life woman who was the legendary Davy Crockett's wife. Fourth graders enjoyed finding all the characteristics of tall tales in this great story.

Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade--To review Library terms and skills we played several great rounds of Library Jeopardy this week. In a stunning reversal, the 6th gradeboys' team bet all their cards on a daily double to catch up with the girls, forcing a tie breaker. Congrats to the girls for coming up with the correct "question" for: a unit of a video picture. Do you know the answer?(What is a pixel)

Bookworms are really "crawling" in the Library as first and second graders are reading up a storm and keep watching for those video book reviews from our Red Dot Club.

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At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold,
that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the
better. ~~Barack Obama (from a speech to the American Library Association June 25, 2005)

About Me

I graduated from UCLA in 1970 with a degree in Art History and then earned my California Teaching Credential from UCLA in 1972. After teaching 4th grade in the inner city for 2 years I moved to Santa Barbara and founded the Santa Barbara Center for Educational Therapy. In 1989, with a desire to return to the public schools, I was fortunate to be hired as a school librarian and I'm starting my 20th year at Cold Spring School.
I have always been a bookworm and love teaching so this is the perfect job for me!